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Tuesday’s Steelers OTAs News & Notes

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— Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor were not in attendance. Polamalu normally skips most OTA sessions.

— WR Markus Wheaton was the starter opposite Antonio Brown when running with the 1’s. With Lance Moore entrenched in the slot, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Martavis Bryant are Wheaton’s only competition for Emmanuel Sanders old spot. Wheaton will really have to struggle in camp to not open the season as the starter. “I’m definitely chasing that spot,” Wheaton said.

— The Steelers starting defensive line was LDE Cam Thomas – NT Steve McLendon – RDE Cam Heyward. 2nd round pick Stephon Tuitt has a strong chance to beat out Thomas for a starting job as the Steelers could end up having two defensive rookies start the season.

— Maurkice Pouncey recovering from a torn ACL, was a full participant in today’s workout. Pouncey looked explosive and said it was “pretty awesome” to be out there drive blocking guys today.

— OLB Jarvis Jones claims he has not added much weight but is much stronger than last year. We’ll truly find out in August when the Steelers put the pads on. Jones who the Steelers are counting on to make a big jump in Year 2, had 1 sack in 636 snaps last season.

Trade Buzz: Thursday’s 1-for-1 trade of young underperforming players saw the Minnesota Wild acquire center Victor Rask from the Carolina Hurricanes for left winger Nino Niederreiter. Carolina did an excellent job of being able to get out of the Rask contract, who has three years remaining with a $4 million cap hit. Rask has 1 goal, 5 assists on the season, mirrored in a 22-game goal drought. The logic here for Minnesota is taking the chance on a playmaking center who can help fill a top-9 spot longer term if the Wild move on from Eric Staal. Minnesota is also playing the card that a change of scenery will benefit the 24-year old who posted a career-high 21 goals, 48 points in 2015-2016.

Niederreiter’s trade value was stunted because of his contract, where he has three years left on his deal with a $5.25 million cap hit. Niederreiter is a player who is extremely hard to play against, drives possession well, and has three 20 goal seasons over his last four full seasons. Injuries (18 goals in 63 games) kept him from a 4th straight 20-goal season in 17-18. The Niederreiter acquisition also sets up as great insurance for the Hurricanes if they can’t resign Micheal Ferland. In the short-term, Carolina’s center situation is a mess with Jordan Staal sidelined with a concussion, but they’re getting the better player who fits the identity they’re trying to establish upfront, especially on the wings where they’ve identified the need for Patric Hornqvist type players.